Lena Grossmüller

DSCVR – A Travel Guide to Serendipity

How can serendipity help to discover more scope for surprises, the unknown and leisure whilst travelling?

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Independent travel is being stretched to its limits: in search of uniqueness and authenticity, tourists find it increasingly difficult to discover places at ease and without previous expectations. How can the scope for surprises, finding the unknown and maximizing leisure be extended? Following the idea of experimental travel, and based on explorative and auto-ethnographical research methods, I developed DSCVR, a Travel Guide to Serendipity: instead of navigating through the city it is a guide to getting lost. DSCVR raises questions, instigates cultural inter­action, and encourages reflection on past situations. Playful impulses in the guide aim at expanding the traveller’s horizon for unusual experiences, and inspire the discovery of certain uncertainties – from Honolulu to your hometown.